


Under the sea

by HappyKonny



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mermaids, Gen, human Sportacus, mermaid Robbie, mermaid au, underwater au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 20:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9140980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyKonny/pseuds/HappyKonny
Summary: Sportacus (named Alex in the story) sees something curious one evening at the beach. He thinks nothing much of it, instead getting ready for taking sail the next morning.No one would've thought they'd get into a storm and that the ship wouldn't withstand it.Neither could anyone suspect that Sportacus would be saved by a mysterious person -or creature?- and awaken deep under the sea.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Sportacus is named Alex in the story, since he is human here.

Every sailor knew the tails of the creatures deep in the sea. The most known surely being the tales of sirens, known to look like beautiful girls with angelic voices, capturing every man's heart upon hearing it. For them to lure the sailors towards their island, surrounded by a rocky coast, to shipwreck them.  
Or the tales of the mermaids, half human half fish with the most beautiful looks. Their tears are told to be one of the rarest to ever be seen, their beauty captivating the heart of everyone who saw them. The stories rank from mermaids being harmless and their kiss granting mortal men to breathe underwater, to transforming into horrifying beasts with the urge to rip you to shreds and consume your meat.

Often they were used to scare young children, to keep them away from the sea, from going in too far. So that they wouldn't talk with anything in the water that they didn't know who it was, what it was.  
Usually, they forgot when they grew up. Thinking it was just a story to scare them, that there was no truth behind them. Sure, there were the stories old sailors were telling, but a sailors tale was one to not be trusted.

He loved the stories. He wasn't scared of anything he heard, not of monsters, or sirens, or mermaids. Not of any fish in the sea, of any creature on land. He was intrigued by it all, curious to know if any of the tales he heard were real. That's why he had joined a crew, sailing the seven seas. Staying in the glaring sun most every day, working in every weather, eating as healthy as they could to not get sick on sea.

It was a calm evening, the last before they would set sail again. Alex was at the beach, taking a stroll, watching the sun slowly setting. It was a beautiful evening and Alex enjoyed the feeling of the last warm rays of sunlight touching his skin, giving his almost golden locks a soft glow. Looking out over the sea, he watched the waves break on the shore and on some boulders in the water. What he hadn't expected to find was someone looking at him though.

It was the face of a male Alex had spotted, the person laying with his upper body on one of the big boulders, further away from the beach. His hair was black, slicked back. His skin was glistening in the sun, the water on him reflecting the light. He wore something alike to a golden crown, comfortably around his head, with a small red stone or crystal on the front, on his forehead. There were small golden chains attached to it as well. It seemed like he was wearing a golden neckpiece like a necklace as well, decorated with many small golden chains as well.

Before Alex had a chance to take in more details of the man, or even try and talk to him, the stranger noticed that he was spotted and quickly pushed himself back into the water. Alex could only guess that he swam away, but he couldn't see where he went. It made him frown, his mind wondering why someone would be swimming in the sea at such a late hour. But maybe it was just someone who liked to exercise, just like himself?

He decided not to let his mind dwell on it too much, focusing his thoughts back to the coming journey. He was excited like he always was, hoping for the sea to be calm and their journey to be safe. He himself sadly didn't have any family to return to anymore, but the other sailors -which he considered friends- had families and some even children. So Alex soon returned back to where he was staying, to get a good night's sleep, for the coming journey on sea the next day.

**oooo**

A storm had started, the sea raging, waves throwing the ship to and fro. Everyone tried their best to keep the ship on course, to keep everyone on board. But their ship was too small and not sturdy enough and finally broke apart, the crew dispersed into the sea. They were drowned in the raging waves thrown around.

Alex lost all sense of direction, he tried his best to get back up to the surface to get more air into his lungs, but every time he broke through the water's surface, another wave came tumbling over him and dragging him back down underwater. It was a game of endurance, Alex against the sea. But Alex had his limits, he could only strain his muscles, his lungs, so much, before he couldn't anymore.  
The cold water was freezing his muscles, the salt burning into his skin. His lungs were screaming at him, they needed fresh air, they needed oxygen. And finally, he gave in. He couldn't hold his breath anymore and opened his mouth, his lungs trying to desperately take air in, but were flooded with water instead. Precious air bubbles went to the surface, while Alex was being dragged deeper into the darkness of the sea, too tired to try and get up once more.

**oooo**

It was cold. Freezing, to be exact. Wet clothes clung to his skin, his hair stuck to his skin and his forehead. He sputtered salty seawater, the disgusting taste lingering in his mouth. He could hear the sounds he made echo off of walls, which prompted him even more to finally open his eyes. He needed some moments to adjust his eyes to the strange lightening.  
He was in a cave. A small one at that, but a cave nonetheless. There were glowing stones on the ground strewn around him, which illuminated the small space he was in. His head was throbbing and he tried to remember what had happened.

It came back to him, slowly. He had been sailing with the rest of the crew, until a raging storm had destroyed their ship and thrown everyone into the sea. He had lost the fight against nature, so how had he ended up in here?  
He slowly sat up, looking around. He noticed the glowing stones around him, picking one of them up. It looked like someone had laid them down here specifically. Letting his gaze wander around, he noticed that the cave was small and had no other ways. There was a small body of water in front of him though. Was this a pocket of air underwater? How did he end up here?

He let himself fall back onto the ground with a big sigh, he felt exhausted. His muscles were sore and he was freezing. He'd need dry clothes and warm up, before he got sick or something alike. But he didn't know how far underwater he possibly was. Someone must have gotten him here, someone must know that he is here. Drifting into his thoughts, he was in a state between being conscious and asleep. His mind was buzzing with questions, though he couldn't very well concentrate on any thoughts.

Alex barely heard the water move, though he passed it off as something else, probably a fish or something that had found its way here and tried to get back. But as soon as something cold and wet touched his cheek, he was startled awake and he scooted backwards, opening his eyes and starring at whatever -or maybe whoever- was there and had touched him.  
What he was met with, were steely grey-blue eyes on an expressionless face. A face he had seen before, the day before, at the beach. But now he was much nearer and Alex could see him much better.

The other man's skin had a strange tone. He was dripping with water, it dripped off his chin, his hair. What Alex noticed, were his ears. Something red, like spikes, grew out of the sides. It brought his gaze towards the man's neck, where he found... gills? Alex was sure now, that this person wasn't human. Confirming his thought further, were the man's arms, which he used to prop himself up -still half in the water. Out of his elbows also grew two red spikes, his lower arms reflected the light from the stones a little in some places, like there were scales. And of course, his fingers. Nails red like the spikes, and sharp. And there were membranes of skin between his fingers.

"Who... what are you?", Alex asked, now more interested and curious than scared. The person furrowed his brows at him, looking at him suspiciously, like he didn't trust Alex. And before Alex could say more, he had pushed himself back into the water and swam away. The last glimpse Alex had been able to get of the person was a light teal colored fin disappearing into the darkness.  
"A mer..man?", Alex wondered aloud to himself. A merman, was he the one who had saved him? He obviously knew he was here and he had touched him -to see if he was awake? Alive?- so it was the most logical that he had been the one to have saved him.

But Alex couldn't just leave here. He didn't know how far he'd have to swim and he surely couldn't hold his breath long enough to swim back up to the surface _and_ find his way back to land. He was in dire need of help, and currently, the merman was his only hope. Though he had no idea when he would be back. With a sigh, Alex curled in on himself. He was cold and was sure to get sick. It didn't hinder his exhaustion that still lingered in his bones to sweep over him and pull him back to sleep though.

The next time he woke up, he felt much better rested. His clothes had dried mostly, but he still felt cold. He wasn't clothed for being somewhere dark and cold, but out in the open, in the sun. He carefully uncurled himself and stretched, getting up to his feet to do it properly. He was glad the cave was large enough for him to stand and for him to stretch his muscles, do some light exercise even.  
"What are you doing?", a voice suddenly asked, echoing off the wall. It startled Alex and he turned towards the source, the body of water -the merman.

He was here again, leaning on the ground and looking at Alex, a puzzled expression on his face. He didn't understand what the man was doing, it seemed rather useless to him. Maybe he had been bored?  
"I'm stretching", answered Alex with a smile. "Warming up my muscles. I haven't moved in quite a while". He couldn't tell how long he had been down here, but he felt like it was at least a day. He'd need some food, and water that he could drink.

"Sounds stupid", commented the other, looking immensely bored now. Glancing at the water, Alex could see something slightly moving, seeing with difficulties the teal of the fin and the deep purple tail of the merman.  
"I'm Alex", he introduced himself, looking back at the other's face, still having a bright smile on his face. He wasn't bothered being here, he was glad! Glad to be alive, that he had been saved.

"You may call me Robbie", the merman introduced himself, though he didn't really seem to care. It made Alex smile nonetheless, happily nodding. He'd remember that!  
"You saved me, right? Thank you so much!", Alex was very grateful for it, not even once wondering why a merman would save him in the first place. He always believed in the good in people, so why not believe into the good of other creatures as well?

"Whatever", Robbie didn't seem to care about it. "We should go. I know enough about humans to know you'd die here sooner than later", he chuckled at the uncomfortable expression Alex got from that, but the man nodded and walked over to Robbie.  
"How can I come with you? I cannot breathe underwater like you can", he asked then, curious. He had heard many tales of how it could be possible for humans, but he couldn't be sure. Many loved to tell lies for tales, to gain admiration and being looked up to.

"Take this and follow me", Robbie held out something to Alex, which he carefully took. It was a necklace of sorts, made with golden chains like the ones on Robbie's jewelry. There was a locket or something alike as pendant, but Alex didn't open it. Instead, he put on the necklace, the locket laying near his throat on his chest. He almost missed how Robbie vanished back underwater and swam through the tunnel that seemed to be there.

Alex took one of the bigger glowing stones, taking off his shoes to have an easier time swimming, before carefully getting inside the water too. As soon as his head was submerged in the water, something like an air bubble formed around his head. He found he could easily breathe and have his eyes open, being able to see. The bubble had a slight purple and blue tinge, shining a bit -like it was magic. But Alex couldn't think too long about it, before he heard Robbie's voice calling for him. Calling back to him -not knowing if he would be heard- Alex began to carefully swim through the tunnel, using the glowing stone to get through it, since it was rather dark.

He could see the open sea at the end, with Robbie waiting there with crossed arms. It was the first time that Alex saw the merman's tail clearly. The purple tail had barely noticeable thin stripes, in a more orange colour. His light teal fins had red spikes at their ends, and something that looked like antennas Alex would say, grew from the beginning of the fins, thin and just as long as the fins themselves. He had more jewelry on his tail, something that looked exactly like the crown-like jewelry on Robbie's head.

"Done staring?", Robbie asked, impatient. It made Alex shake his head softly, before smiling at Robbie and nodding. He hurried to swim out into the open, his gaze naturally drawn towards the light at their sides. It was further in the distance, further down into the sea, and partly hidden by corals and rocks. But Alex could make out that it was something like a city -underwater, built by merpeople.

"Come on, goldy locks", Robbie was still impatient, and slightly annoyed, beginning to swim towards the city, or town? Alex couldn't tell how big it was, or what was considered big underwater. Hearing the strange nickname, he chuckled and followed Robbie, swimming as fast as he could. It was obvious that Robbie could swim much faster than Alex if he wanted to, but it seemed like he was more lazily swimming. Alex wondered why, maybe so that he could keep up with him?

"I've never seen someone from your folk before", Alex started a conversation, unable to keep quiet, even though he liked looking around and admire the beauty of the underwater world.  
"We don't _want_ to be seen", Robbie replied with a huff. They were supposed to be tales, myths among humans. Something no one knew if it was real or not.  
"You were at the beach though", Alex pointed out, earning a snarl from Robbie  
"Didn't think some nosy sailor would be there and stare at the sea", he replied with a growl, obviously not liking this conversation. But at least he was still talking with Alex.

Alex stayed silent for a while, just a gentle smile on his face. He didn't comment that Robbie could have easily seen him before he saw him, and could've vanished before Alex had spotted him. He didn't want to anger the other further though, he was just glad to talk to Robbie a little more. He would love to be friends with him! Though he had no idea if he could. Surely he could though!

They passed more rocks, going through an opening in the underwater mountain -or however you'd call it- and emerged in front of the glowing underwater town. Alex would guess it was a town, it seemed too small to be called a city in his eyes.  
"What are we doing here?", he asked, curious why they didn't go back to land. What reason would Robbie have to bring him here?  
"I can't bring you to land, it's too far away", Robbie answered. He was for one too lazy to go all the way and take care that nothing happened to Alex, and on the other hand his magic -which provided the air bubble- would probably not hold long enough for all the way. And he surely wouldn't swim along on the surface. They'd need breaks inbetween as well for sure, no human could swim for so long as the journey to land would probably take.

"So we're getting help?", Alex asked, excited to meet more people. Robbie seemed rather nice, even if he seemed to dislike Alex' company -he _had_ saved him after all! He didn't get any answer to his question though, other than a grumble at least. So Alex just followed Robbie silently, glad to at least be moving. He didn't like being still for too long and doing nothing, and this was a good workout! So he didn't complain, instead admiring the beauty of the underwater town.

When they reached a bigger building, Robbie took a deep breath. It seemed like he really didn't want to do this, but since he had saved Alex, he needed to take responsibility. Well, he didn't _need_ to, but if he left Alex here on his own, he could just tell who had saved him and brought him here, and who knew if that would be better or worse? So, Robbie chose to take action himself and just get it over with.  
He opened the doors and swam inside, Alex following him. He looked around curiously, it looked like a town hall or something similar. What caught his eyes though, were more merpeople. They were smaller than Robbie and looked definitely younger than him as well.  
"Stay here", Robbie said and vanished soon enough, Alex barely having time to see where he went. So instead, he decided to stay where he was, watching the kids. They seemed to be playing, which caused him to smile. It was nice to know that the kids here could play all the same as human children on land could.

And then, he was spotted. The youngest of the kids had seen him, and of course immediately swam over to him curiously. His hair was short and blond like straw, his eyes blue like the sky. The other's followed after him as soon as they noticed where he was going, and to whom. Another boy with short brown hair and brown eyes, a girl purely in pink almost, her hair the bright colour, while her eyes were brown. There was a boy with darker skin, but bright orange hair, and with dark eyes, and another girl, her brown hair in three ponytails, her eyes brown as well.

They all swam around him curiously, eyeing him, asking question after question.  
"Who are you?"  
"What are you?"  
"Why don't you look like us?"  
"What are these?"  
"You're not from here"  
"You breathe pure air?"  
"Who brought you here?"  
And many more questions, causing Alex to laugh softly. They were so curious about him, and he didn't mind it at all.

"Calm down everyone, and then I can answer you", he said, startling some of them. It seemed like they hadn't expected for him to be able to talk to them, or maybe to hear them. But, they quieted down, gathering in front of him instead.  
"My name is Alex and I'm human", he told them, getting gasps as response. They seemed a little shocked, or surprised, and the pink girl seemed very interested. The curiosity soon leaped over to the others as well.  
"How can you be here?", one of them asked, swimming around him again, looking curiously at the air bubble. They all knew that it was made out of magic, but not really whose.

"My ship broke in a storm. I was saved by one of your folk. He gave me this bubble to breathe", Alex explained, tapping lightly on the locket around his neck with a smile. The kids nodded in understanding, so another merperson had saved him!  
"Who saved you?", asked the youngest kid then, curious. There hadn't been many people out during the last storm as far as he knew. The other kids nodded in agreement, wondering as well. But before Alex could answer, there was another voice interrupting.

"I saved him". All eyes drifted to the side and to the tall merman, having his arms crossed and looking annoyed at the kids being here.  
"Robbie?!", they all exclaimed, causing said man to roll his eyes. Seems like he was used to them exclaiming his name like that.  
"Brats", he scoffed and shook his head. He could already imagine that they hadn't even introduced themselves, but instead just bombarded Alex with questions. They knew little to nothing about humans, like most of the merfolk.

"Hey!", the brown haired girl exclaimed, almost angrily. But the other girl poked her in the ribs with a stern look. It caused the other to grumble and cross her arms.  
"Can I ask who you are?", Alex asked then, hoping that he wouldn't upset anyone. It didn't seem to, but the others looked a little embarrassed that they had forgotten to introduce themselves.  
"I'm Stephanie!", said the pink girl with a smile.  
"Ziggy!", that was the youngest of the group.  
"Pixel", the boy with the orange hair said.  
"Stingy!", that was the last of the boys.  
"Trixie", and the last of the group, the last girl, introduced herself as well.

It sounded all like nicknames to Alex, but he didn't mind at all, smiling at them all.  
"Nice to meet you!", he said instead with his bright smile, really happy to have met them. He would've loved to talk more with them, or maybe even play, but next to Robbie was another person -an older merman by the looks of it- and they motioned for him to come to them. So Alex excused himself, the kids reluctantly going back to play, and Alex went to Robbie and the other.

He got introduced to the mayor of the town and the three of them vanished into the office. They needed to figure out how to get Alex back to land, how he could survive underwater for a while, where he could stay and what to do with his wisdom of the merfolk.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired be some awesome art on tumblr! And specially written for the creator in that sense ^3^  
>  **http://bearhat-gets-lazy.tumblr.com/post/155141330440/i-was-just-going-to-bed-but-like-an-underwater-au**  
>  I first wanted to make Steph something else than a mermaid, but I couldn't think of anything, so she's just from another town originally.  
> And I didn't describe the kids much than hair and eyes, because I have no hecking clue how they would look like. I could guess the colour of their tails, but oh well.


End file.
